Jennifer Granholm, ALEC, and gun laws

[alp227]

(Longer post at the GD board)

The Ann Arbor City Council recently passed a resolution calling on the state legislature to repeal the 2006 self-defense laws, in response to the Zimmerman trial verdict. The Self Defense Act got a 28-10 vote in the Senate and 90-17 in the House, meaning that even Democrats in the legislature significantly supported the bill, assuming that all Republicans voted Yea. The NRA has details of the six bills that Granholm signed back then:

SB 1046, sponsored by Sen. Alan Cropsey, outlines rebuttal presumptions for justified use of self-defense. The bill makes it clear that there is no "duty to retreat" if a person is in a place where they have a legal right to be.

SB 1185, sponsored by Sen. Ron Jelinek, allows for the award of court and attorney fees in civil cases where it was determined a person acted in accordance with the Self Defense Act and where civil immunities apply.

HB 5548, sponsored by Rep. Tim Moore, gives civil immunities to persons acting in accordance with the Self Defense Act, preventing criminals and their families from suing law-abiding citizens.

HB 5153, sponsored by Rep. Leslie Mortimer, puts the burden of proof on the prosecutor to show that a person acted unlawfully in the application of force, rather than the person using the force having to prove they acted lawfully.

HB 5142, sponsored by Rep. Tom Casperson, expands the definition of "dwelling" to include a person’s garage, barn, backyard, etc.

HB 5143, sponsored by Rep. Rick Jones, creates the Self Defense Act and specifies that it is not a crime to use force or deadly force to defend oneself if that person is not breaking any laws when defensive force was used. The person must be facing imminent threat of death or great bodily harm.

In 2007, Granholm then signed a law that according to the NRA: "prevent(s) local governments from confiscating lawfully owned firearms during declared states of emergency, as witnessed in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina."

Many non Michigan progressives love Granholm because of her stint on Current TV's The War Room and her fired-up speech at least year's Democratic convention. But according to a report by the Sunlight Foundation, Florida's SYG law very closely mirrors Michigan's SYG law - and which group none other than the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has promoted Florida's SYG law to be copied in other states??

Yet Granholm has had at least one anti-ALEC segment while on Current. MichiganLiberal.com writes that Granholm has "rolled over and sold out progressives when she was in office."

So I wonder if ALEC has infiltrated the Michigan Democratic Party given that a lot of Democrats in the state legislature voted for the Castle Doctrine or are even Michigan Democrats naturally pro-gun? Do you think Granholm signed this out of principle or to prevent being defeated by Dick DeVos in 2006?

[NYC_SKP]

1. Ah, Jennifer Granholm!

[House of Roberts]

2. Can't see much logic in a veto here.

The Self Defense Act got a 28-10 vote in the Senate and 90-17 in the House...

That's 73% and 84% respectively on 'The Self Defense Act'.

The six-bill Castle Doctrine Package passed with bi-partisan, supermajority support in both houses of the Michigan legislature:

Sounds like they were pretty much veto-proof. Had she vetoed them and they passed anyway, what good would it have done, at the time, if she then lost to DeVos?

[Demeter]

3. Jennifer put her efforts into recruiting business to Michigan from overseas

because she felt frustrated by the GOP legislature, no doubt. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't boost her national or international or corporate standing by getting any Relocation Coup to happen.

(Them furriners ain't so dumb as to want to deal with an urban landscape destroyed by a GOP war on cities, nor a red-neck wilderness that despises reason, science, and public infrastructure (read: taxes) outside of their own little world...)

Only the Koch brothers saw any value in Detroit, for example: as a toxic waste dump. Granholm sure didn't think it was worth fighting for the urban peoples.

But, she was also a Third Way Democrat, a Hillary and Obama supporter, not able nor willing to build grass-roots support with anyone: the Democratic party or the voters. Too much top-down, no bottom-up. She didn't do anything to build up the state Party, either.

Pretty much a pretty face, place holder and good soldier for the national ticket, and not much for us Michiganders...which is no doubt why GOP Governator Snyder is up running things into the ground in Lansing, now....

[SoapBox]

5. Very interesting. nt

[MotherPetrie]

4. Didn't know that -- thanks for the info.